Never Boring
by jbn42
Summary: When you have a colony to run, enemies about and distant leaders to answer to, it's not always simple to just live your life.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is, as usual, set in the context of my other stories. I was asked for the wedding story. Here it is. This is some time after my story "Are You Kidding?" – when Taylor proposed – but before "A Phoenix By Any Other Name." This really did start out as a one-shot, but it got a little long for that. So, it'll be a two-shot.

**Disclaimer is the same as always – don't own them, just borrowing, no profit here.**

Early in the morning, well before sunrise on the day after the pulse that disabled the colony, Alicia wakes up tucked into Nathaniel's uninjured side, her head resting on his shoulder and hand on his chest. His arm is wrapped around her, and she can tell from his even breathing that he's still asleep.

A light wave of nausea washes over her as she thinks about his injury. Just a few inches higher, and things might've been a lot worse. She doesn't often let it show, but the idea of losing him terrifies her almost into paralysis. She tries to mentally shake the bad thoughts away, refocusing on what happened last night.

He proposed. She said yes. She still can't believe that he asked her, and she's even more surprised at herself for agreeing. She knows, though, that the marriage itself isn't the biggest issue. They can be quietly married; they've been quietly together for seven years now, and very few are the wiser.

Alicia knows that the greater hurdle is cohabitation. She loves the idea of living with him, sharing space and waking up like this every morning. But they are already violating pretty much every frat reg that ever existed, and to live together openly would just be the icing on the cake. He's more dismissive of the regs than she is. He always has been. But she knows that no matter how distant they are from the powers that be in the future, they still are technically under command.

She sighs a little, feeling some of the happiness from the night before slip away. When she said yes (after, she openly acknowledges, some cajoling from him), her heart felt lighter than it ever has. In the harsh light of day, though, she can't help but worry.

"Stop it, Lieutenant. That's an order."

She jumps a little at the sound of his voice. "Stop what?"

He snorts, tugging her even tighter into his side. "For lack of a better term, stop mindfucking this. I got you to say yes. No backing out now."

She grumbles. "I wasn't going to back out. I want to marry you. I'm just worried about how we handle moving in together."

"We pack up my stuff and move it over here," he pauses, "You have the built-in shelves and a better kitchen."

She pokes him in the side. "Smart ass. You _know _that's not what I mean."

He laughs quietly before releasing a sigh. "I know. We'll figure it out, Alicia." She pulls away from him and sits up, her legs still under the covers. She draws her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. "Alicia?" She feels him sit up next to her.

"I know you're trying to make me worry less, but I'm serious, Nathaniel. If the brass in the future order us to split up or give up our positions, what are we going to do?" She looks at him, and his smile fades.

"Alicia, we won't have to figure that out. I just believe that we're going to be all right." He wraps his arm around her shoulders.

"But what if we're not, Nathaniel? I know you do OK with taking things on faith, but I've never been very good at crossing my fingers and hoping for the best." She looks back down at the bed.

Using two fingers under her chin, he tips her face up to get her to look at him. "If they force us to choose, each other or the colony, my choice is clear." She blinks, and he drops a feather-light kiss on her lips. "I'd choose you, Alicia. Every day of the week and twice on Sunday."

"I'd never ask you to…"

He cuts her off with another kiss. "I know. You wouldn't have to. And I'm guessing I wouldn't have to ask you either."

"You wouldn't." Something occurs to her; she knows he won't like it, but she wants to say it. "Nathaniel, if they do find out and make us choose, I know what we should do. Or, more precisely, I know what _I _should do."

He looks confused for a moment, but then his face darkens. "No. Out of the question, Lieutenant."

"I'll resign my commission so you can keep yours. If I'm not military…"

"Damn it, Alicia, I said no." He shakes his head.

He's scowling now, his eyes stormy. She puts a placating hand on his cheek. "Nathaniel, you know it makes the most sense. If I'm not military, we can be married. You can even create a civilian role for me in the command staff. You did it for Shannon, didn't you?"

He's still shaking his head, silently now. She leans up and kisses him softly. "Nathaniel it's the only thing we can do and have things stay mostly the same. The colony needs you at the helm. You're the reason this thing works. Some may not agree with that, but I know it's true."

He remains silent for several moments. Just when Alicia is about to try to get him to talk, he says, his voice gruff, "I don't like this, Alicia. You spend your life protecting me. At some point, I'm going to demand that you let _me_ protect _you_."

"I know. But this is not that time. I'm not saying I'm giving up my commission right now, though. I'm just saying that if it comes to that, I will." She kisses him again. "Agreed?"

He looks stubborn for a moment, but then he huffs out a breath and nods. "Agreed. But you are at liberty to change your mind, no questions asked."

"OK." She leans up and kisses him. "How is your side?"

He touches the covered wound, only wincing slightly. "Not bad. I had an excellent field medic."

She rolls her eyes. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, Commander. We're still going to see Elisabeth this morning. I can't wait to watch you try to explain to her why you didn't go to the infirmary last night." He actually pouts at that, and she just chuckles and shakes her head. "Now I'm going to kick you out. It's still early, so the coast should be clear. Go."

He stops pouting and laughs. "Yes ma'am. My house is still without power, and I need to get cleaned up. I'm not particularly enamored of the idea of having a cold shower, so I'm going to go use the shower at the command center. Meet me for breakfast in the market in an hour?"

"Sounds good. I don't want a cold shower either, so I'll go to the barracks to get cleaned up. We got those buildings powered up last night. But we're not meeting in the market. We're meeting at the infirmary. Once Elisabeth checks you out and administers some antibiotics just in case, then we can go to breakfast."

He snorts but gives her a begrudging nod. They both get up, and she peels off the t-shirt, one of his, that she's wearing to give to him. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of her naked upper body, but she just gives him a mischievous grin and pulls on a sports bra, followed by a pair of her cargoes and a tight, fitted t-shirt of her own. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he gets dressed himself.

Once he's dressed and has pulled on his boots, they go into her living room. He's about to slip out when a knock at her door makes them both jump. Alicia gestures towards her bedroom with her head, and he goes back into it and closes the door most of the way. She watches and then takes a deep breath, going to see who is here.

She breathes a sigh of relief when she opens the door, as it's Boylan on the other side, and he already knows about her relationship with Nathaniel. "Tom, what's up?"

The bartender shoots her a shit-eating grin. "I have new comms for you and Taylor." He hands them to her.

"Er…thanks. I'll give him his when I see him later." Alicia knows that Tom knows about them, but she still isn't comfortable acknowledging that.

Boylan laughs. "Sure, Wash. Or you could just give it to him before he leaves." She opens her mouth, but she can't quite formulate a response to that. He chuckles again and pats her on the shoulder. "I hope the old bastard's side is all right. That crossbow bolt had to hurt like a bitch. Have a good day, Lieutenant." He raises his voice. "You too, Taylor."

Alicia just closes the door. "Good bye, Tom."

Nathaniel comes in, laughing softly. "You know, he annoys the hell out of me, but he does have moments when I don't completely despise him." He takes his comm from her and hugs her to him. "I should go before it gets too light." She nods but doesn't pull away immediately.

One last kiss and he goes, slipping out and leaving her to spend a moment thinking about the fact that they're actually engaged. She's glad he's gone, because she really doesn't want an audience for the goofy grin she gets on her face and the completely-out-of-character girly squeak she emits at the thought of their new status.

Ten minutes later, she has a backpack of her toiletries on her shoulder and is headed for the barracks. The area is co-ed, but they do have stalls and curtains for privacy. She enters the shower area. It's empty except one stall at the far end. She can tell from the off-key singing that it's Dunham.

She smirks and calls. "Tune up, soldier!" It has the desired effect. She hears a clatter and the sound of scrambling on the tile floor. She chooses a stall towards the front and steps into it, putting her bag down. Laughing to herself, she hears the water in the other stall shut off, and a moment later, she sees Dunham rush past, hair wet and in a t-shirt and boxers.

She leans into her shower and turns on the water, feeling a little guilty about poor Dunham. She wasn't trying to run him out, but it had been an irresistible opportunity to mess with him a little. A noise outside her stall makes her think he's returned, so she peers out to see if it's him, intending to apologize. Instead of Dunham, though, she sees a very dirty, not to mention stinky, Mark Reynolds.

He is basically creeping into the shower area, looking left and right to see if anyone is around. "Mark? What happened? Are you all right?"

He jumps about a foot. "Wash! I mean ma'am! I didn't see you, I mean, I didn't, um, what are you doing here?"

Still in her clothes, she steps out of her stall and approaches him, eyeing him suspiciously. "The pulse knocked out power, and my house isn't back up yet. Now what happened, Mark?"

"I, well, I sort of got, well…" He looks down at the floor.

"Got what, Mark? Spit it out. Don't make me make it an order." She crosses her arms across her chest.

He looks back up at her. "I got stuck outside the fence last night. My rover got fried by the pulse, and I had to hike back. I couldn't make it back before dark, so I covered up with this stuff and hid out in a tree."

She furrows her brow, running duty rosters through her head. "Mark, why were you OTG? That wasn't on the duty roster."

He swallows hard, looking, if possible, even more nervous. After a moment, he mumbles, "It was a date with Maddy Shannon."

"I'm sorry?" She can't believe what she thinks she just heard him say. "Say that again, Mark. But enunciate this time."

"It was a date! With Maddy! I'm sorry, Wash! I didn't mean for us to get stuck out there. We were just going for a picnic lunch. That's all!" He runs a hand through is filthy hair.

She wants to be angry with him, but he looks so pathetic and freaked out that she can't muster too much in the way of outrage. "Tell you what, kid – you are going to be my personal sparring punching bag and training course guinea pig for a while. No complaining allowed. And you, Dunham and Reilly get a replacement chip from Boylan for the rovers so you can go get the one you had to abandon. That's it. I'm also telling the commander about this, and if he has another punishment to mete out, you will bear it gracefully. Are we clear?" He nods. "Good. I'm assuming Shannon doesn't know?"

He shakes his head. "I don't think so. Maddy said she'd call if she got caught sneaking in."

"And she was all right?"

"Yes. I took care of her, Wash, I swear. I'd have died before I let something happen to her."

She continues to eye him critically. "OK. Take a shower. You are rank, kid."

He nods and darts towards the back of the shower room. He pauses, turning back. "Wash?" She lifts a questioning eyebrow at him. "Thanks."

Her expression softens. "No problem, kid. But on this, one more strike and I tell Shannon. This was reckless, Mark, and since we didn't know you were out there, you not only endangered yourself, you endangered Maddy."

He pales under all the muck on his face. "Understood. It won't happen again, Wash. You have my word."

"Good. Now shower. You really do stink."

He grins sheepishly. "Yes ma'am."

She shakes her head and steps back into her own stall, muttering, "Kids."

**WT**WT**WT**

At the agreed to time, Alicia enters the infirmary. As she walks in, she looks around for Nathaniel. She sees Elisabeth talking to Hunter, still a patient after his experience with his parasite. Slightly annoyed, she taps her comm to open a private channel. "Washington to Taylor, come in please."

When she's met with silence on the line, she rolls her eyes. "Nathaniel, respond. Ignoring me will not make me go away."

Alicia has to snort when she hears actual grumbling over the connection. "On my way, Lieutenant."

"Thank you." She taps her comm to close the connection just as Elisabeth approaches her.

"Lieutenant, what can I do for you?"

Alicia turns to smile at her. "Doc, you can call me Wash, or even Alicia."

"All right, Alicia. In that case, I'm Elisabeth." She returns Alicia's smile. "Are you here to rat out the commander?"

Alicia laughs. "No. I'm certain your husband already covered that. I'm here to make the commander sit still while you check him over."

Elisabeth smirks and nods. "I take it you stitched him up? I know you would've called if you thought it was something you couldn't manage."

"I did. I want you to double check the wound, though, and I imagine a shot of antibiotics would be in order," she pauses and gives Elisabeth a conspiratorial look, "And frankly, I just want you to give him a hard time for not coming here right away."

"Understood." They both look up to see Nathaniel enter, a grumpy expression on his face. "Commander, have a seat." Elisabeth gestures to the nearest biobed. When he hesitates and looks stubborn, Elisabeth puts her hands on her hips and says, "It wasn't a request. Sit or I'll tranq you. I may not have a _crossbow _handy, but I'm quick and accurate with a hypo."

He grumbles and rolls his eyes, sitting down on the bed. "Your husband is a rat, Doctor."

She laughs. "Yes, he is. But your lieutenant here would have busted you if Jim hadn't."

He gives Alicia a dirty look, but she's completely unphased by it. She looks around to make sure the area is clear, and then she says, "Might I remind you that you agreed, albeit silently, to come here? If nothing else, _Commander_, you need antibiotics. And no matter how good I still am with a needle, Elisabeth needs to make sure there isn't any internal damage."

"Fine." He pulls off his jacket and takes his weapon out of his shoulder holster, passing both to Alicia. He then lifts his t-shirt so Elisabeth can see the wound.

She hisses when she sees it. "That had to hurt." He just grunts in response as Elisabeth pokes gently at his side. "This looks good, Alicia. Well done." Alicia nods, and Elisabeth looks up at Nathaniel. "One quick scan for internal injury, please. Lie back, Commander."

He obeys, reclining back on the biobed. After the machine finishes its scan, Elisabeth looks at a readout and then gives him a nod. "You can sit up."

He does so and tucks his t-shirt back in. "Well, Doc, am I going to live?" He lifts an eyebrow at her as she preps a hypo.

Alicia snorts, and Elisabeth replies, "Yes." She gives him a hard look. "But you were lucky, Taylor. Lucky that it didn't hit anything vital and even luckier that you didn't bleed out before your medic here got to you. So we now have a new rule," she reaches up and administers the hypo to his neck, making him jump a little, "And that rule is that when you get shot, no matter how inconsequential you _think _it is, you come here. Are we clear, Commander?"

He shakes his head. "I won't agree to that." As Alicia and Elisabeth both start to object, he holds up his hands. "What I'll agree to is immediately finding Wash, and if I can't find her, _then _I'll come here."

Elisabeth starts to protest, but Alicia stops her this time. "OK, sir. We can live with that." She gives Elisabeth a pointed look.

Elisabeth looks back and forth between them before letting her shoulders drop in defeat. "All right. But one break of that promise, and my rule goes into effect."

"Fine."

He's back to looking grumpy, so Alicia checks the area again. Seeing that it's clear, Alicia puts a hand on his arm. He looks at her, and his expression softens almost instantly. "Thank you, Nathaniel." She turns to Elisabeth, keeping her hand on Nathaniel's arm. "I take it that hypo was antibiotics?"

"It was, and I have some painkillers for him as well, for tonight." She goes over to a cabinet, unlocking it and pulling out a small vial of pills. "It's just a mix of acetaminophen and codeine. Not too strong."

She hands them to Alicia, knowing that Nathaniel would likely refuse to accept them. Alicia slips them into her pocket. She figures that if he won't take them, Alicia can at least re-stock her med kit. "Are we free to go, Elisabeth?"

The doctor nods and turns to Nathaniel, actually shaking her finger at him. "Take it easy for a couple of days, Commander. I mean it."

He snaps her a salute. "Yes ma'am."

Laughing, Alicia hands him his jacket and weapon and points at the door. "Go." Holstering his pistol and shrugging into his jacket, he arches an eyebrow at her. She rolls her eyes. "Go, _sir._"

He grins and goes to the door, holding it open for her to go first and then following her out the door. As they walk towards the market in search of something for breakfast, he chuckles a little.

She looks at him, a questioning look on her face. "What's funny?"

He grins. "I was just thinking that if nothing else, life with me is never boring."

She snorts. "Truer words have never been spoken."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **This is, as usual, set in the context of my other stories. I was asked for the wedding story. Here it is. This is some time after my story "Are You Kidding?" – when Taylor proposed – but before "A Phoenix By Any Other Name." This really did start out as a one-shot, but it got a little long for that. Then, it became a two-shot. Now, it's officially going to be a three-parter - part 3 will be the conclusion including at least a little naughtiness (and a potential rating change).

**Huge apologies for the delay in posting. It's been a long few weeks between work and some personal things happening in real life getting in the way. Mea culpa, dear readers!**

**Disclaimer is the same as always – don't own them, just borrowing, no profit here.**

Fifteen minutes later, they've acquired coffee and muffins from one of the vendors who has a brick oven and open fire for cooking, and they find a table on the edge of the plaza area of the market. Most people have already moved on, so it's isolated where they're sitting.

He takes a bite of his muffin before asking, "So, can we actually make some plans? I don't want to wait, Alicia."

She blinks. "How long have you been thinking about doing this?"

"A while." He looks slightly sheepish, so she just keeps her eyes on him. "A few years, since just after the Sixers. I don't know why that triggered it for me, but it did."

She has to resist the urge to reach over and run her hand through his hair. Instead, she just gently hooks her foot around his ankle, as much as their combat boots will allow. "Why didn't you say anything, Nathaniel?"

"I don't know. I think I knew it was the wrong time. Lately, though, since the tenth, I've been thinking about it a lot. When Mira captured you, I started thinking about it even more."

A thought dawns on her, something he's not saying. "You think something's coming. Something not good."

He sighs. "I do. I don't know what it is, but I'm worried."

She furrows her brow. "Nathaniel, if you proposed because you're worried…"

"I didn't. I proposed because I love you, and in my heart, you've been my wife since 2142. This is just making it official."

Her eyes soften. "Then let's make some plans." He grins, but she holds up a warning hand. "I've been thinking about this, and I'm not ready to deal with both the wedding and moving in, Nathaniel. I need to deal with one major life change at a time, OK?"

He looks crestfallen, not a word she can often associate with him. She risks putting a hand on his leg under the table and squeezing. "Nathaniel, I want us to live together. I want to wake up with you every single day. But I won't lie to you. This scares me. It's one thing to have our mostly clandestine relationship. Wedding rings don't necessarily change that. But openly living together puts us out there in a very real way, and you and I both know what risks that brings."

She looks down at the table, and she feels his hand come up and cover hers on his leg. "Alicia…"

She looks up at him. "I'll marry you today, if that's what you want. I want to be your wife, Nathaniel. I don't want to disappoint you, but please, let's get the eleventh out of the way and then figure the rest out. Can we do that?"

He entwines their fingers under the table. "We can do that." He shakes his head. "And for the record, you're not disappointing me. You're right. We need to do this one step at a time. But," he squeezes her hand, "Let this serve as your notice that I'm going to be showing up at your house most nights from now on. We don't have to blatantly live together, but I'm not above sneaking in and out."

She laughs. "Fair enough. Now, what do we do about rings?"

"Let's go to the command center." He reluctantly releases her hand, and they stand up, going to dump their breakfast trash before heading out of the plaza.

Once they're inside the office, he closes the door behind them. He walks over to the small cabinet he has behind his desk, opening it up to reveal a metal lock box in the lower corner. She cocks her head. "Is that new?" She can't remember seeing it before.

He looks up at her. "It is. I had Malcolm get it made for me, it has some information in it about master command codes for different systems. I was going to get you the combination this week. You know it all already, but it's the written orders and information you'll need in case something happens to me." He must notice the frown that crosses her face and the flicker of anxiety in her eyes at his words, because he straightens and walks over to her, hugging her to him. "Alicia, I…"

She shakes her head. "It's OK. I know it's a reality. It's just a reality I don't like to think about."

"Same here." He hugs her tighter to him, and she presses her face into his neck.

After a few moments, he loosens his hold on her, and she steps back. "Sorry about that." She gives him a self-conscious smile.

"Nothing to apologize for, Alicia." He cups her cheek with his hand for a moment before turning back to the small safe. "It's manual, so still works despite the pulse." He grins up at her. "Not planned, but good side benefit of my nostalgic streak, eh?"

She laughs, coming to stand next to him. He roots through the safe and stands up holding a small box, which he offers to her. "What is this, Nathaniel?"

It's his turn to look a little self-conscious. "I told you I'd been thinking about this for a while. Just open it."

Alicia shakes her head with a bemused smile, and she removes the lid from the box. She gasps in a breath at what she sees in it. "Nathaniel, they're beautiful." Inside, there are two bands, one large and one smaller. She picks up the smaller one, clearly meant for her, and she examines it. It is relatively simple, but there are designs etched into it, diamond cuts in the metal making it glint in the light. "What is the metal?"

"Platinum. We had it sent for some various electronics and mechanical equipment, but I had Malcolm keep a hunk of it and a hunk of gold set aside for wedding rings for colonists." She gives him a funny look. He shrugs. "What can I say? I won't pretend I'm not sentimental."

"Who made these?" She takes his from the box and examines it.

"One of the vendors in the market; I didn't tell him who they were for, and he didn't ask. If you don't like them, he has a lot of other designs I can get made…"

She cuts him off with a kiss. "I love them." He grins, and she returns the smile. "Now, who do we have marry us? Malcolm? I know we qualified him as an officiant, despite his protests."

"That's who I was thinking. That way we don't bring anyone else into the equation." She nods, and he adds, "Witnesses?"

"Guz is going OTG today until at least next week to check the far outposts post-pulse, isn't he?" At Nathaniel's nod, she goes on, "I hate doing this without him, but I don't think he'll be upset. Reynolds? He's like my kid brother, and he'll keep the secret – and I already have something on him that I'll tell you about later."

"That works. And Reilly? Keep it military?"

Alicia looks pensive. "I'd consider the Shannons, but yes, I like the idea of keeping it military, with the exception of Malcolm, of course. We've also just known the others so much longer."

He nods his agreement. "And when?"

She thinks for a moment. "It's Thursday, so why don't we go with tradition? Saturday?"

"You're sure you want to do it so soon? I don't want you to feel like I rushed you into this."

She laughs softly and leans up to kiss him. "All things considered, Nathaniel, we've been together seven years. I don't think you could call getting married after a seven-year courtship 'rushing.'"

"Good point." He pauses. "Should we go ahead and call them all over here? Tell them it's for a meeting?"

"Yes, but tell them the meeting's in half an hour, not right now. And I'll call Mark, have him get here in fifteen minutes." He looks confused, so she explains, "I need to tell you something about Mark. He's going to freak out when I call him, and I want him that twitchy. I also need you to have your angry, scary face on when he arrives. I want him to sweat a little."

"Alicia, what's going on?"

"Let's make our calls, and then I'll tell you a story." She winks at him and taps her comm. He just shakes his head and does the same.

Fifteen minutes later, Reynolds knocks on the office door and is told by Alicia to enter. Nathaniel is seated behind his desk, and she knows that he's not having to work very hard to make his angry face. She stands next to the desk, arms crossed and face impassive. Reynolds closes the door behind him and snaps to attention in front of the desk, clearly expecting the worst.

Nathaniel remains sitting, but he asks, voice icy, "Corporal, when we discussed your plan to court Miss Shannon, how exactly did that translate into taking her OTG without informing anyone, including your C.O. and the girl's father? And I can't wait to hear your justification for taking a rover without permission."

Reynolds pales. "It didn't translate to that, sir. And I don't have a justification. I acted without thought and without regard for the rules. I screwed up, sir."

"Yes, Corporal, you did." Nathaniel stands and comes around the desk, stopping next to Alicia. Mirroring her stance, he crosses his arms. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" His eyes flutter a little, but he stays at attention. Nathaniel nods. "I make no excuses, sir. If I could go back and not do it, go back and fix it, I would. Wash, er, the Lieutenant was right earlier. I endangered myself, and worse, I endangered Maddy. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if she'd been hurt." He breaks his stance, looking down at the floor. "I'm so sorry, sir."

Alicia looks at Nathaniel, knowing he's not going to add to Reynolds' punishment. He nods to her and steps forward, putting a hand on each of Reynolds' shoulders. The younger man looks up, probably surprised that Nathaniel isn't yelling.

"Son, Wash already told me that you're about to be her personal punching bag for a while. Seeing as I don't even wish that on myself, I'm going to let that stand as your punishment. But let me make sure you understand something. Wash told me that she already admonished you to not do this again. I'll take that a step further. You do anything even remotely like this again, not only will we alert Shannon, once he's through with you, I'll be hard pressed not to drop your ass outside the gate and leave you there to fend for yourself. Am I clear?"

Reynolds goes back to attention. "Yes sir!"

"Good. Now at ease, Corporal, and go take a seat at the conference table." Reynolds looks confused, and Alicia notices.

"It's OK, Mark. We're done with you being in trouble. The meeting we have coming up is unrelated." He looks relieved and retreats to the table, sitting at the far end, occasionally casting a nervous look in their direction.

Nathaniel looks at her with a smirk. He murmurs, "I think I scared him."

She muffles a laugh. "What was your first clue?"

Before he can reply, Reilly and Malcolm enter the office. Alicia walks over to them, Nathaniel right behind her. "Laura, Malcolm, please have a seat." She nods at the conference table.

They comply, and Alicia and Nathaniel follow, both settling into chairs, Alicia next to Reilly and Nathaniel by Malcolm. Malcolm looks at the two young soldiers and then back to Alicia and Nathaniel. "Wash, Taylor, what's going on?"

Nathaniel looks at her, and she gives him a nod. He looks back at their three guests. "We have a favor to ask, Malcolm, and the same to you two, Reilly, Reynolds." All of them look curious, and Nathaniel continues, "Everything we discuss today doesn't leave this room, understood?" All three of them nod, and he goes on, "Last night, I asked the lieutenant to marry me, and I consider myself very lucky that she said yes."

They all look momentarily speechless, but Reilly turns in her chair towards Alicia, leaning over and surprising her with a hug. "Congratulations, ma'am!"

Alicia tenses briefly before hugging the younger woman back. "Thank you, Laura."

After a few more moments of congratulations to both of them, they all settle back into their seats. Malcolm is the first to speak up again. "So, there has to be a reason we're here?"

Alicia nods, taking the lead this time. "We don't want to wait. We want to get married on Saturday afternoon. Malcolm, if you don't mind, we'd like you to perform the ceremony, plain traditional vows." She turns to Reilly and Reynolds, "And you two, we'd like you to be the witnesses. No one else will be invited or informed. We want this to remain secret."

Reynolds goes quiet as Reilly says, "Of course, sir. I'd be honored." She cuts her eyes at Reynolds and elbows him in the side.

He jumps a little and swallows hard. "Definitely. It's an honor, sir, Lieutenant."

Reilly looks at Alicia, eyeing her for a moment and then smirking. "You're not getting dressed up, are you? You're not going to let me wear a dress."

Alicia huffs out a laugh, shaking her head. They haven't talked about this, but Alicia knows the answer. "Even if I wanted to, which I emphatically do not, I can't wear a dress. If we're going to keep this quiet, at least for now, we can't look any different than we do on a normal day." She feels Nathaniel's hand grip her hip, and she reaches down and covers his hand with hers.

Reilly looks sad in a sympathetic way, so for both her benefit and for Nathaniel's, just in case he's feeling guilty, Alicia adds, "Laura, it's OK by me. Don't worry about it. It's far more important to me that we protect ourselves and the colony. Maybe it's selfish, and we haven't worked all the post-wedding details out yet, but it's what we both want. We don't know, though, how this will go over, both with the troops and citizens here or with 2149."

"Ma'am, permission to speak freely?" Reilly suddenly has a determined look on her face.

Amused at hearing that phrase for the second time in under an hour, Alicia looks up at Nathaniel and sees just as much amusement in his face. He gives her a quick nod, and she turns back to Reilly. "Have at it, Reilly."

"Ma'am, you should know that I can't think of anyone here who would have a problem with the two of you being married, or even just in a relationship, except for maybe the few delusional people who thought they might have a shot with one of you. I know only a few of us even know about you two, but I don't think many will be all that surprised," she pauses, her features going hard, "And if 2149 comes after you two, you should know that we'll have your back."

Reynolds sits up straight in his chair. "Damned right we will!" He blushes a little at his own outburst and sinks back into his chair, but Alicia shoots him a smile anyway.

They turn and look at Malcolm. Nathaniel lifts an eyebrow. "Malcolm, you've been awfully quiet."

The scientist, still looking a little surprised, grins at them. "I'm happy to do it. I take it that the hunk of platinum you signed out wasn't for colonists after all?"

Nathaniel grins back. "Sorry about the white lie, Doc. But to be fair, while I'm in charge and Wash is number two, that doesn't mean we're not colonists."

Malcolm rolls his eyes. "Touché, Taylor." He looks at Alicia. "Congratulations, Wash. Now, what time were you thinking on Saturday?"

She shrugs a little and looks at Nathaniel. "Late afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me. How about sixteen-thirty hours? The three of you just meet us here?"

They all agree and head out, leaving Alicia and Nathaniel alone again. She looks up at him, and he leans down and presses a soft kiss to her lips. "You sure about this, Lieutenant? You now officially have less than 72 hours to back out."

She shakes her head. "Not a chance, Commander."

His face turns serious then. "Joking aside, Alicia, are you really all right with this being so casual? You were right, the safest way to do this is dressed normally. Anything else would draw attention."

"Nathaniel," she gives him a smile, "To tell you the truth, it's a relief to me. I hate being the center of attention – you know that – and there's nothing more at the center of attention than a bride in a public wedding. This suits me. I'm more worried about it not suiting _you._"

"I'd love to marry you out on the balcony with the entire colony watching, but Alicia," he kisses her again, "All that really matters to me is the getting married part."

"OK, then I guess we're both good with the plan."

"I wish we could have a honeymoon, though."

She wraps her arms around him and presses her face into his neck. "A quiet night on Saturday is all I need. And maybe the day off on Sunday. We can put Shannon in charge and just hide out in my house, that way we're here if he needs us."

He hugs her tight to him and turns his head to kiss her forehead. "Why don't we just horde some food and not leave your house until Monday?"

"I think that can be arranged. But we'll have to tell Shannon something, just in case people start asking."

He nods. "I'll talk to him, just tell him we're taking some time. He's a cop. I'll let him sort out an explanation if he's asked."

"Works for me." She smiles and then checks her watch. "OK, I have a training class, and then I'm going to go see how Tom is doing with making more new chips. I assume I'll be seeing you tonight?"

He releases her from his arms. "You will. Remember, pretty much every night from now on."

"Right, but not tomorrow night." She gives him a firm look.

He furrows his brow. "Why not tomorrow night?"

"Nathaniel, it just feels off somehow to spend the night before our wedding together." He grumbles but nods in reply, and she leans up and kisses his cheek. "Have a good day, and I'll see you tonight."

She turns to go, but he stops her with a hand on her arm. "Alicia." She turns back, looking at him with a questioning expression. "Thank you."

She furrows her brow. "For what?"

He pulls her back to him and hugs her tight before releasing her again. "For saying yes."

Her expression softens, and she reaches up and runs her hand through his hair. "I love you."

He nods. "I'll see you later." With a quick smile and a kiss to his cheek, she turns and leaves, another uncharacteristic grin on her face.

**WT**WT**WT**

The next two days pass in a blur. Other than Thursday night, she's barely seen him. Between her usual work with the soldiers and dealing with continuing issues from the EMP, their only chances for contact have been short staff meetings to hand out duties and get status reports from Jim and the various department heads.

Most of the systems, power, security and medical first, have been brought completely back up. Alicia knows they owe Boylan one for all of his assistance, and as much as Nathaniel is loath to admit it, he knows it too. By the time lunch rolls around on Saturday, she's tired and a little cranky. At some point in the next few hours, she knows she should go home and at least clean up a bit. Regular clothing or not, she'd like to at least be freshly showered for her own wedding.

She sits down at a small plaza table with a salad, and as she digs in, she shakes her head in wonder at the notion that they're getting married this afternoon. Lost in thought, she absently eats her lunch, paying little attention to the bustling market. A moment later, she jumps a little at the sound of a voice directed at her. "Ma'am?"

Blinking, Alicia looks up to see Reilly standing there, her own lunch in her hand. "Reilly? Did you need something?"

The younger woman looks uncomfortable for a moment. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I didn't mean to startle you. All the tables are full, and I was just wondering if I could join you? I hate trying to eat standing up."

Alicia nods and beckons to the empty chair at the table. "Sure, Laura. And sorry, my head was somewhere else."

After sitting and looking around to see if anyone was listening, Reilly replies, "Thanks, ma'am, and I think you being a little distracted is pretty understandable."

Alicia rolls her eyes, but inside she's nodding. She tries to shrug it off. "It's not a big deal, Reilly. We're just making it official."

Reilly gives her a slightly-smug grin. "Whatever you say, ma'am."

"Watch it there, Corporal." Alicia's voice sounds menacing, but Reilly laughs when she catches the glint of humor in Alicia's eyes.

"Yes ma'am." They eat in silence for a while until Reilly looks at Alicia, looking curious. "Ma'am, we never really talked after I walked in on you two in the office last year," Reilly pauses when Alicia chokes on her food, but a moment later, Alicia, sighing, motions to her to continue, "But I've just been wondering, how long have you and…" she pauses again, looking around, "Your _significant other_ been together? And, um, who else knows?"

Alicia sighs again, pushing her food away. She knows she doesn't have to respond, but she figures Reilly is essentially acting as her maid of honor, so she nods and replies, "First question, seven years, basically since we got here, and second question, you, Reynolds, Malcolm, Guz, Boylan, and Jim and Elisabeth Shannon."

"Wow. Seven years? Really?" Alicia just nods again. They look at each other in silence until Alicia realizes she's wasted even more time, and she gets up to go home to shower. Before she steps away, Reilly grins and says, "Ma'am?"

"Yes, Reilly?"

"How many of us found out by…catching you in the act?" She shoots Alicia a smirk.

Alicia smirks back. "All of you except Guz and the Shannons."

Reilly looks surprised, and then she shakes her head, laughing. "I bet Mark nearly had a stroke."

With a grin, Alicia gives Reilly a wave. "More like a heart attack. See you later this afternoon, Reilly."

"Yes ma'am."

In minutes, Alicia gets to her house, glad that she didn't run into anyone needing something from her en route. She hurries towards the bathroom, wanting to shower quickly in order to give herself a little time to relax before heading back to the command center. As she stands under the hot water, she has to chuckle a little to herself when she thinks about the night before last.

He'd come over after dark, and she already had dinner ready. After eating, he'd helped her clean up and then tried to get frisky with her. She'd shut him down before he could get anywhere, reminding him of the still relatively new hole in his side. The look of disappointment on his face had made her wish she had a camera.

Last night, as planned, he'd stayed at home. That didn't stop him from calling her on a private channel and trying to talk her into letting him come over. He'd failed miserably, but she'd softened the blow by engaging in a little description of what she wants to do with him tonight. The funny part is that he'd sounded almost more excited about the parts that didn't involve sex. She likes the fact that he can still surprise her now and then.

Grinning and running soapy hands over her heated skin, she knows that tonight will be good. She has her outfit picked out, nothing all that exciting, just something that's an odd combination of comfortable and sexy that's she's pretty certain he'll like. They have low-key plans, and she's looking forward to a day's worth of quiet, something she feels sure they need to savor, as it might be a while before they get much quiet again.

As the water begins to cool, she rinses clean and turns the water off, stepping out of the shower and wrapping up in a fluffy towel. Fifteen minutes later, she's padding towards her bedroom, hair mostly dry and makeup on. She slips into clean clothes, her usual camo fatigues and black t-shirt with her gun in her thigh holster. She laces up her boots and slips on her leather jacket.

She walks over to her dresser to get her watch and put it on. When she does, her eyes land on the photos there, one of her and Nathaniel from years ago, covered in some sort of mud and laughing about it. The other is where her attention lingers. She reaches out and touches it, an uncharacteristic wave of nostalgia engulfing her. The photo is of her and her mother, taken when Alicia was a young teenager, just two years prior to her mother's death.

Despite her usual ability to keep her emotions in check, Alicia feels tears welling in her eyes, and she murmurs, "I miss you, Mom. I wish you were here for this, even though you might be a little disappointed in me for wearing camo and a sidearm to my wedding."

"Probably not." Alicia jumps at the sound of a deep voice behind her, and she spins on her heel. He's leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and a look of fond adoration on his face. "I didn't know her, but from what you've told me, I can't imagine her being anything other than happy _for_ you and proud _of_ you."

She shakes her head and blinks back the tears. "Nathaniel, what are you doing here? Isn't this bad luck or something?"

He straightens and walks over to her where she stands, hands now on her hips. He reaches up and cups her face in his hands, using his thumbs to gently wipe at her eyes without mussing her makeup. "Considering that I saw you at the command center this morning, I'd say that the bad luck ship has sailed. And I'm here dropping off some things for tonight and tomorrow."

She starts to say something, but he leans forward to silence her with a kiss. After a moment, he pulls back. "Before you reprimand me, no one saw me. It's pretty quiet in the residential areas in the afternoons. You know that."

She sighs and nods. "I'm sorry. I'm think I'm more anxious about this than I expected to be."

He kisses her forehead. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm more nervous this time than I was when Ayani and I got married."

She turns her eyes up at him in surprise at that. "Really? Why?"

He looks a little sheepish. "Because I knew Ayani wouldn't change her mind. With you, I'm terrified that you'll finally realize that you're throwing your youth away on a mostly broken old man."

"Stop that right now, Nathaniel Taylor. That's just nonsense." She furrows her brow at him. "There has never been anyone or anything that I've loved more than I love you. I don't give a damn how old you are, and you know that. And you're not broken, or, more specifically, if you're broken, so am I – so we're a perfect set either way."

"How do you do that?" She gives him a puzzled look, so he goes on, "How do you manage to diffuse everything I'm worried about? How do you always know what I need to hear from you?"

She shrugs. "Same way you always know with me." Then, she gives him a smirk. "And thanks, by the way, for acting like I actually have any youth left to throw away."

He chuckles. "Anytime."

They walk into her living room, and she stops short. There are bags on the counter in the kitchen that she can see from where she stands, and there is a huge bouquet of her favorite flowers on the coffee table.

She protests, "Nathaniel, you didn't have to…"

His arms encircle her from behind. "I know. But it's not like I can give you a proper wedding. This is the very least I can do, along with a couple of bottles of decent wine I strong-armed Boylan into coughing up. I also got food, but you know you have to cook it."

She laughs. "Indeed. Food poisoning wouldn't make for a very festive wedding night."

He squeezes her tight before releasing her. "So, Lieutenant, you ready for this?"

She grins, reaching up and cupping his cheek. "Yes, sir. Let's go get hitched, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **This is, as usual, set in the context of my other stories. I was asked over on for the wedding story. Here's the finale of it.

**I am terrible. I know it has been forever – real life and other writing projects keep interfering. As penance, it gets nice and smutty, along with some definite fluffiness. Also, if I can get my muse in gear, this has me thinking about a few Nathaniel-perspective one shots starting with him leaving her behind for the eleventh through right after getting her back at the end of my "Phoenix By Any Other Name" story. So, be on the lookout!**

**Disclaimer is the same as always – don't own them, just borrowing, no profit here.**

_Because it's been so long, where we left off: _

_He squeezes her tight before releasing her. "So, Lieutenant, you ready for this?"_

_She grins, reaching up and cupping his cheek. "Yes, sir. Let's go get hitched, sir."_

**Never Boring, Part Three**

They slip out of Alicia's house, Alicia going first with him close behind her, neither of them too worried about being seen together during the day. Over the years, they've made a point of having dinner together often, sometimes with Guz, sometimes without, both at the market and at their homes.

As they walk towards the command center, they're probably slightly closer together than usual, and she can feel his hand occasionally brush hers. She's amused by it, but they need to be careful. Knowing she's walking on his uninjured side, she elbows him lightly. "Behave, Nathaniel."

She doesn't look up at him, but she hears his indignant snort followed by a chuckle. "Yes ma'am."

He drifts away slightly as they continue on, putting a more circumspect amount of distance between them. When they get to the command center, they dismiss the guards at the foot of the stairs, and then she goes up in front of him. As she climbs the stairs, she can almost feel his eyes on her. She has to stop herself from rolling her eyes when he lets out a low, feral-sounding growl.

Loud enough for only him to hear, she hisses, "Stop ogling my ass, Commander."

He laughs and replies much louder, "But it's such a nice ass, Lieutenant."

She stops and gives him a sharp look. "Stop it, Nathaniel, and keep your voice down when you say things like that."

He stops too, and he looks slightly abashed. "I'm sorry, Alicia." His face takes on a conciliatory expression. "I gave the guards _and _all of the usual staff here the afternoon off. Told them we had a private meeting with some of the staff. No one would overhear, but I should have told you that."

Her face softens. "Yes, you should have. But it's OK." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes before starting up the stairs again. "Come on. You better hurry. I might change my mind if you make me wait too long."

In an instant, she hears him follow, and she laughs out loud when he bounds past her to the top of the stairs. He opens the door for her and bows with a glint of laughter in his eyes. "My lady."

She snorts. "Where?" But she goes in ahead of him.

He chuckles, following close behind her. When they enter the office, Reilly and Reynolds are already there, looking slightly nervous. Alicia is puzzled for a moment, and then she looks past them to the conference table. On it, there is a small cake, five glasses and a pretty bouquet of bright-colored flowers tied with a red ribbon.

Footsteps on the stairs make them turn before Alicia or Nathaniel can comment on the items on the table. Malcolm comes in with a shopping-type bag in his hand. "Sorry I'm late, all. I had to make a stop, and Boylan was less cooperative than I'd hoped."

Alicia glances at Nathaniel, and he shrugs. "What is all this, and what did you need from Boylan?"

Reynolds and Reilly, exchange a look, and Reynolds gives her an encouraging nod. Reilly clears her throat. "We know you said it was going to be short and simple, sir, ma'am, but we thought it needed at least a little celebrating. I made the cake and Mark bought the flowers. The vendor just assumed he was buying them for a girl." Mark looks embarrassed at that, and Alicia can't help but smile.

Malcolm steps over to the table and, with a flourish, pulls a bottle of wine from his bag. He turns and grins at them. "The booze was my idea."

That seems to break the awkward tension in the room, and they all laugh quietly. Nathaniel nods. "Thank you all. Now, can we get this show on the road? I don't want to give this one," he reaches over and takes Alicia's hand, "Any more time to change her mind."

She squeezes his hand, blushing lightly. As comfortable as she is with him, she's not as comfortable with being affectionate with him in front of other people. He, on the other hand, clearly has no such discomfort, pulling her tight into his side and pressing a kiss to her temple.

She doesn't say anything, but she sees Malcolm nod and busy himself pulling out his plex. Reynolds and Reilly both wear slightly silly grins, and Reilly in particular is giving her a look that says almost audibly, "Awwww."

Alicia huffs a little, and she gently pushes away from him. He laughs and releases her, likely knowing that she's a little self-conscious about the display. Malcolm seems to pick up on her discomfort as well, and he clears his throat. "I'm ready when you are." He waves his plex in the air.

They step over to him, Reilly taking a place next to Alicia after passing the colorful bouquet to her, Reynolds standing next to Nathaniel. Alicia looks at the plex and a wave of nervousness flows through her, not at getting married but at how vulnerable it makes her feel. "How will the records be entered, Malcolm?"

"All of us have to enter our ID numbers for validation, including me as the officiant and these two," he motions to Reynolds and Reilly, "As the witnesses. Then, in case anyone gets curious or we somehow lose control of the file, I have an encryption program I've worked up to protect files, so I'll encrypt it myself."

Nathaniel nods, and he puts a reassuring hand on her lower back. "Then let's do this, Doc."

Malcolm nods in return, and a moment later he reads from his plex, going into the traditional, simple vows most people have heard many times before. For Alicia, it's almost a blur until Malcolm asks if they have the rings. Nathaniel must have given them to Reynolds earlier, because the younger man pulls them out and hands them to Nathaniel. Alicia passes the bouquet back to Reilly to free her hands.

As they slide the rings onto each other's ring fingers, Alicia feels uncharacteristic tears pricking at her eyes. She swallows hard and manages to blink them back, and she looks up at Nathaniel. She's not entirely surprised to see his own eyes shining a little with the sheen of tears. At that, she relaxes entirely, studying his face and committing this moment to memory.

Malcolm finishes the ceremony, and Nathaniel pulls him to her to kiss her. She allows him to kiss her gently on the lips before pushing away and then up on her toes to hug him to her. With her face next to his ear, she murmurs, "More later, Nathaniel."

He tightens his arms around her in reply. He hugs her closer to him before releasing her, and as she steps away she sees Malcolm and Reynolds both grinning at them. She turns to Reilly, and she's surprised to see that unlike Alicia and Nathaniel, the younger woman was unsuccessful at holding back tears. Her face is streaked with them, and she shrugs sheepishly before thrusting the bouquet at Malcolm and surprising Alicia with a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you two, ma'am," she pauses and then makes them all laugh by adding, "Even if you didn't let me wear a dress."

After that, as Malcolm opens and pours the wine, they enter their ID numbers into the plex to confirm their participation in the ceremony. Reilly goes first and then she, after being told that they don't need to do any traditional bride-and-groom cake cutting, slices up the cake for everyone, leaving a decent piece of it behind for Alicia and Nathaniel to take with them.

Over the wine, Malcolm asks, "So, I'm assuming there won't be any big honeymoon plans?"

Alicia shakes her head, and Nathaniel responds, "No. We're just going to hole up at Alicia's house until early Monday morning. With Guz OTG, we're making Shannon keep an eye on things. He just thinks we're taking some time to ourselves, doesn't know why."

"Wait, at 'Wash's' house? You're keeping separate houses?" Reynolds speaks up, surprising all of them. He immediately looks contrite, but Alicia can also see confusion.

She explains it. "Mark, we can hide being married, and we've relatively successfully hidden being in a relationship. But if we move in together, there won't really be a way to hide that. Until we can figure out how this will sit at Hope Plaza, we need to keep flying under the radar."

He looks irritated. "Well, that just plain sucks." He then appears to remember his audience. "I mean, um, that sucks, ma'am, sir."

Nathaniel reaches over and gives Reynolds' shoulder a squeeze. "That it does, young man."

Reilly smiles a little. "What do you mean by _relatively_ successfully hidden?"

Alicia snorts, and Nathaniel grins and replies, "Well, the three of you all found out in a less than preferable way, as did one other. We told one person, and two others found out by accident, though not as awkwardly as you."

Malcolm interjects, "Who else found out like we did?"

In unison, Nathaniel and Alicia say, "Boylan."

Reilly laughs. "I've got to know, sir, ma'am, who handled it the best and who handled it the worst?"

Alicia rolls her eyes. "You and Malcolm are tied for the middle. You maybe did a bit better than he did. Boylan was by far the best. He thought it was hilarious." She looks at Reynolds. "Mark here nearly fainted. I swear to God, I thought he might actually have a stroke."

Clearly trying to cover his embarrassment, Mark asks, "Who are the other two? I figure the one you told is Lieutenant Guzman."

They both nod, and Nathaniel answers this time. "The Shannons. They came by Wash's house looking for me the morning after the virus that gave some of us temporary amnesia. The doc had been trying to find me to check on me, and when she couldn't, thinking I'd had a relapse, she and Shannon went to Wash's house. Conveniently, I was there, having spent the night."

They continue to talk for a while, eating the cake and finishing the wine. Reilly boxes up the remaining cake and puts it into the bag Malcolm brought. She also shows them that there's a second bottle of wine in there – Malcolm's gift – and she carefully stows the flowers in the bag. Malcolm and Reynolds leave first, but Reilly stops and hugs Alicia again and then, much to his clear surprise, she hugs Nathaniel. "Congratulations, ma'am, sir. Have a good night."

He blinks as the young woman bolts down the stairs. After a moment, he says, "Never would have pegged her as a hugger."

Alicia laughs. "I know. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

He nods as he closes the door to the office, and then he turns to Alicia, drawing her close and pressing his lips to hers, one arm going around her waist while his other hand slips into her unbound hair. Her hands, trapped between their bodies, grip his shoulder and leather holster. The kiss deepens quickly, but it's not urgent. There is something soft and languid about it, completely out of character for them, but Alicia rolls with it, acknowledging in her mind that it's already been that kind of day.

They pull back some time later, and there is something soft and nearly reverent in his eyes. His hand moves out of her hair and down to her cheek, and he softly brushes his thumb over her now slightly swollen lips. "Thank you."

She cocks her head slightly in confusion. "For what?"

He gives her a crooked half-smile. "I don't know. Everything? For putting up with me? For being there for me all these years? For looking after me like you do?"

She smiles and shakes her head, leaning up and nuzzling her face into his neck. "Anytime. And thank you."

"For what?"

"Pretty much the same stuff."

"Anytime. But I wish you'd let me look after you more."

She kisses his cheek and pulls away, heading to the table to make sure everything is in the bag. "Maybe someday, Nathaniel."

He follows her to the table. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know."

She rolls her eyes a little, but she still nods. She looks out the window to see that it's getting dark. "We should head home." She pulls her tags off and slips off her ring, adding it to the chain. He does the same with his own tags and ring, and a moment later, they both are tucking their tags back under their t-shirts, the metal of their rings clinking lightly against their tags.

Taking her left hand and looking at her once-again bare ring finger, Nathaniel frowns and shakes his head. Before she can ask what's wrong, he mutters, "The kid is right. This just plain sucks."

She weaves her fingers through his and raises their joined hands so she can drop a kiss on the back of his. "I totally agree. But we can make the best of it, Nathaniel. We always do."

**WT**WT**WT**

Ten minutes later, she slips into her house. He'll be following soon, but they ran into a patrol as they passed Nathaniel's house, so she kept going while Nathaniel went inside so as not to attract attention. He's going to follow her in fifteen minutes or so, once the patrols have moved out of the housing area.

She puts the bag with the wine, cake and flowers in it down on her kitchen table, and then she goes into her bedroom to change her clothes. Knowing that he loves it when she wears his shirts, she has a special outfit in mind for the evening. It's not particularly fancy, unless you count what she'll have on under it.

She grins a little and shucks her clothing, stripping down to nothing. She opens her dresser and pulls out a new blue and black lace bra and matching boy short type panties, thanking her lucky stars for the woman in the market who makes these things. She puts both on, adjusting the bra in the mirror. She shakes her head and grins more fully at what she sees. Her breasts aren't particularly large, but the bra works wonders with them, subtly and miraculously pushing them up without much in the way of padding.

Heading into her closet, she gets a button-up shirt of his, a BDU shirt, black and short-sleeved, and she puts it on over her bra and panties, buttoning it up to right at her bra, leaving a generous amount of cleavage on display. She shakes out her hair, not caring if it looks messy, and she gets one more thing from her dresser, a pair of thick, slouchy socks. She pulls them on in counterpoint to her sexy underwear and hair, knowing that he likes the juxtaposition. The fact they keep her feet nice and warm is just a bonus for her.

The last thing she does is take her ring from her tags, slipping it on her finger and leaving her tags on the dresser. She stops briefly to admire the etched platinum band, marveling at the notion that they're actually married. She grins again, unable to help herself. Still smiling, she heads to the kitchen to make them some dinner.

After rescuing her bouquet of flowers from the bag and putting them in water, she takes out the wine and leftover cake and leaves them on the counter. She peers into the bags Nathaniel left here earlier this afternoon, and she sees more wine and some different food for them to eat tomorrow, things requiring little preparation, so they can relax and not leave her house.

She sets those bags aside to make room on the counter. She then puts out the makings of a salad – one of the few types of food preparation she'll allow Nathaniel to undertake – and she goes about assembling the meat and vegetable kabobs she started marinating this morning.

Once that's done, she puts the kabobs in the broiler, and she gets out some of the rice-like grain they've been able to cultivate here. She keeps working without turning around when she hears her front door open and close, knowing it's Nathaniel. As she puts the rice on the stove to cook, she listens to his footsteps approach the kitchen. When she guesses that he's close enough, she purposefully drops something on the floor and bends over to pick it up, her shirt riding up to treat him to a full view of her lace-covered rear.

She grins when she hears a sharp intake of breath and then his voice breathing out, "Holy shit."

She slowly straightens up, tossing her hair over one shoulder and attempting to school her face to an innocent expression. "Is everything all right, Nathaniel?"

He drops the small pack he was carrying, she assumes filled with clothes for him, and he stalks up to her, looking vaguely like a predator on the hunt. He changed his clothes too, and he's dressed in the comfortable clothes he usually wears when they spar in the gym, in this case light sweats and a t-shirt, along with his ubiquitous leather holster and combat boots.

Moving quickly, he gets to her and immediately leans down to kiss her, his hands moving down to cup her rear. She automatically puts her arms around his neck, knowing what he's going to do. He doesn't disappoint her, picking her up and perching her on the edge of the counter without breaking the kiss. She hums in approval, wrapping her long, bare legs around him and pulling him tight to her as her tongue plunges into his mouth. He groans a little, his hands kneading her backside through the lace.

Some time later, he finally pulls back, and she shakes out her hair again and gives him a wicked smile. "So, are you trying to tell me that you approve of my outfit?"

He squeezes with his hands. "It's not bad. Not bad at all. Excellent use of that shirt, too. You have to keep that now, you know. I'll never be able to look at it again without the lower commander coming to attention."

The broiler timer goes off and she laughs, unwinding her legs from around his waist. He releases her and steps aside, letting her hop down off of the counter. She can feel his eyes on her as she pulls out the kabobs and turns them over. She puts them back in the broiler and resets the timer, and she turns back to him. "What?"

"I like the socks."

"Thanks." She grins, and then she points to the salad ingredients on the counter. "Salad duty, Commander."

He gives her a salute. "Yes ma'am." He gets to work, wielding the knife quickly and efficiently, one piece of military training paying off.

About an hour later, they're sitting at the table, dinner eaten, talking as they finish Malcolm's bottle of wine. The room is softly lit with large candles, all the other lights turned off. He's laughing hard as she tells him about a small prank that she and Reilly played on Shannon and Guz earlier this week as punishment for the men failing to call her when Nathaniel was shot by the Sixer during the blackout. He grins at her. "You actually glued their body armor to the wall of the gym?"

She nods. "I did. I stole it while they were teaching a class, and Reilly got some of the soluble glue Malcolm developed. She also made Malcolm promise to hold out on them with the solvent they needed for at least a day or two," she pauses, "Apparently, our dear Laura Reilly has something on Dr. Wallace, because he went along."

"How did I miss this?" He looks incredulous and slightly disappointed.

She shrugs, getting up to take their dishes to the kitchen. He takes them from her as she replies, "You've been busy, Nathaniel. It was a pretty long week."

He stacks the dishes in the sink. "Fair enough. How long were they up there on the wall?" He grabs her hand, shaking his head when she goes to wash the stacked plates and cooking pans. "We'll clean up in the morning."

He drags her to the couch with him, dropping onto it and pulling her with him. After kicking his boots off, he leans back and props his feet on her coffee table, and she curls up into his right side, dropping her head to his shoulder. "They were there just over two days. The other soldiers, with my permission, decorated them. Dunham and some of the other guys borrowed some ribbon from one of the vendors and put bows all over them, and Reilly used some water-soluble paint to add flowers and their names in pretty script."

Nathaniel snorts. "How did they get them down?"

She nestles further into his side. "I finally relented and let Malcolm give them the solvent when Guz was going OTG." She chuckles. "Despite some serious scrubbing, his armor still had remnants of the painted flowers on it. He was less than pleased. But Tasha high-fived me at the gate. I think she really enjoyed it."

He laughs again, wrapping his right arm around her. He runs his hand through her hair, and she feels him relax into the cushions. She reaches out and takes his hand, her fingertips tracing over his ring.

"I haven't done anything that silly in a very long time. It reminded me of the old days with our unit back in the future, the pranks we used to play on each other back before it all fell apart." She sighs. "That feels like yesterday sometimes. How is it possible that over ten years have passed?"

He presses a kiss to the top of her head. "I miss those days sometimes. I miss the bond we all had." They both fall silent, briefly lost in memories of that time, both bad and good. He shakes his head, she guesses trying to shake off the melancholy that the memories bring with them. "You know, it's been well over an hour, and no one has bugged either one of us."

She nods against his shoulder. "I told Shannon we needed a break. He's only to call in an emergency. You know, like things actually on fire or something."

"I pretty much told him the same thing. Great minds really do think alike."

She releases his hand and wraps her arms around his waist. After a few more minutes of companionable silence, Alicia can't help but say, "Hey, Nathaniel?"

He hums in response. "Yes, Alicia?"

She grins against his shoulder. "We got married."

He squeezes her to him. "I know." Without warning, he twists slightly, reaching his left arm down to fit under her legs. He lifts her, making her squeak a little in surprise. A moment later, he has her sitting sideways in his lap.

She loops her arms loosely around his neck. "Nice move, Commander."

He looks down at her cleavage, now almost directly in front of his face. "Nice bra, Lieutenant."

"It matches the panties, sir."

He arches an eyebrow. "Those up to military standard, Mrs. Taylor?"

She grins at that. "If they are, the military sure has changed." She turns in his lap, straddling him. She can feel his body react to her new position, and his feet come off of the table to rest on the floor. She leans back a little as his hands slide down and grip her hips under her shirt. With her eyes locked on his, she begins to unbutton the shirt she wears from the bottom up, first revealing the top of her panties, then her waist and the lighter skin of her usually covered torso, and finally her bra.

His eyes waver from hers, taking in the picture she presents as she drops the shirt from her shoulders and lets it slide down her arms to the floor. If his body's initial reaction was a ripple, the reaction now is a tidal wave. In moments, his hardness is pressing up into her through the layers of fabric between them. His hands flex on her hips, and he leans forward to capture her lips in a possessive kiss, their tongues immediately battling for dominance.

Suddenly impatient, she reaches down and grabs the edge of his t-shirt, breaking their kiss in order to pull it up and over his head. She leans away and pushes up enough to put her feet on the floor. He seems to be about to protest, so she puts her finger over his lips. "Shhhh." She leans down, replacing her finger with her lips, silencing him with a kiss as she uses her hands to remove his hands from her hips.

She pulls away again, straightening up and standing with her legs on the outside of his. She slowly slides her hands up her own body, stopping to cup her lace-covered breasts with her hands, squeezing lightly. He watches her intently, clearly making an effort to not reach out to touch her, his eyes growing darker and more aroused by the second. She reaches back and unhooks her bra, sliding it down her arms and letting it drop to the floor.

He can't stop himself from reaching for her then, pulling her close enough to put one hand on her ass, squeezing hard as his lips find one of her breasts, drawing the nipple into his mouth and sucking hard. His free hand massages and teases her other breast, and she moans softly while running her hands through his hair.

As much as she's enjoying the sensations singing through her upper body, she wants to regain control. She pulls back again, too fast for him to stop her, and she drops to her knees in front of him. His protest is cut off when she curls her fingers around the waistband of his sweats, pulling both his pants and his boxers downward. Clearly knowing what she wants, he lifts up from the couch just enough for her to remove his pants and underwear with ease.

She grins her wicked grin again when he springs free of the restrictive clothing, and she pauses long enough to remove his socks as well. Still on her knees, she leans forward. After dragging her tongue from the base of him to the tip before engulfing him in her warm mouth. He groans, his head dropping back, and she bobs her head up and down his length, licking and sucking lightly as she does.

One of his hands buries itself in her hair, and she notes with satisfaction that the other one grips the sofa cushions. After a few minutes, she can feel his thigh muscles begin to twitch lightly, and his hand tightens in her hair. "Alicia, enough. I won't last much longer."

After one last long lick, she leans back on her heels. His hand releases her hair, and she trails her hands down his thighs, scratching lightly with her nails. She looks at him with hooded eyes. "Can't have that."

She stands up and pushes her panties down. She's so wet by now that they were soaked through, and they drop to the floor easily. Straddling him again, she steps forward and drops onto the sofa, one knee on either side of his thighs. She reaches for him, and in seconds, she is holding his throbbing length to guide them together. Once she feels the tip of him at her entrance, she simply slides down, taking him completely into her body with one smooth motion.

She lets her body weight press them together, and his hands return to her hips, guiding her as she begins to move over him, rolling her hips as she slides up and down him. She's been wanting him this way, slow and gentle with her in control, since their sensuous kiss in the command center this afternoon, and she loves him even more because he seems to realize it, resisting his natural urge to take over.

As she continues to move, his hands squeeze her hips so hard that she's sure she'll have some well-earned bruises in the morning. She leans forward, kissing him hard before shifting the position of her hips. The new angle makes her gasp and drop her head back, and one of his hands shifts up to support her back as he starts to thrust upward into her.

He groans, his breathing becoming shallower, and she knows he's close and trying to wait for her. His wait isn't long. It only takes a few more powerful upward thrusts from him for her to cry out, arching her back and gripping his shoulders tight as she spasms hard over him. Moments later, he follows her over the edge, calling her name as he holds her to him and spills himself inside of her.

She collapses forward against his broad, heaving chest, and his arms go around her waist. He holds her tight to him and buries his face in the fall of her hair. She wraps her arms around him and sighs.

Several minutes pass with them in that position, him still inside her as they both get their breathing under control. Eventually, her knees begin to protest, so she gently pushes up. He slips out of her, and she carefully moves until she's sitting sideways again, still in his lap but able to stretch out her legs.

He kisses her neck. "We should go to bed."

She rests her head on his shoulder and wraps her arms around his waist. "Yeah."

Belying his own words, he raises his legs again, propping them back up on the coffee table. He relaxes back into the sofa. "Or we could stay here."

She smiles, and she sits up for a moment. She reaches behind her and grabs a small pillow before gesturing to his feet. He nods, lifting them enough for her to put the pillow under them. She then grabs the large afghan she keeps on the back of the sofa and covers them with it. She snuggles back into his chest. "It's not very late."

He runs a hand through her hair. "I know. And you know, last night, I think one of the activities you promised me was dancing. Slow dancing, to be precise."

"What we just did doesn't qualify?" There is a teasing lilt to her voice.

He chuckles. "It was a good start, but nowhere near enough." He tilts her face up to his and presses a kiss to her lips. "Let's take a nap, but then later, you're going to put your little outfit back on and we're going to dance."

She looks up at him, a curious expression on her face. "You're very serious about this."

His eyes are soft when he brushes a lock of hair out of her eyes. "I am. It's our wedding night, and I want to dance with my wife. It'll be a long time before we manage to get a night like this again. We need to take advantage of every moment of it."

She smiles and nuzzles her face into his cheek. "I love you, Nathaniel Taylor."

He hugs her tight to him in response. "I love you more, Alicia Washington Taylor."

They both drift off, but a few hours later, true to his word, they get up and re-dress. They spend the rest of the night as promised, slow dancing in her living room, enjoying the peace and quiet of the night in the soft light of the flickering candles.


End file.
